Quick Hits: A lot to be decided on regular season's final day

HALIFAX - Greetings from Halifax, where the Wanderers defeated FC Edmonton 3-1 in the team's first home game of the 2022 season.

It felt much more like hockey weather at the Wanderers Grounds with many fans sporting gloves and tuques - and in normal times we'd be halfway through the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. But, here we are heading into May with a few things still to be decided in the QMJHL's regular season.

There are a couple of key Eastern Conference races to watch on Sunday, the final day of league's regular season. The Saint John Sea Dogs will be keeping a close eye on the Halifax-Cape Breton and Quebec-Rimouski games. The Sea Dogs, as the No. 3 seed in the conference, will play the No. 6 seed in the first round. The Mooseheads currently sit fifth with 76 points and the Oceanic sixth with 75 points.

Another race that could impact the Sea Dogs down the road is at the top of the standings. Quebec currently has a one-point lead on Charlottetown for first overall. The Islanders will host Bathurst Sunday afternoon. If things stay as they are and the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference all advance to the second round, that would setup a Saint John-Charlottetown series.

Here's a look at the Eastern Conference standings heading into the final day of action.

A few other news and notes...

• The league's 16th and final playoff spot is still up for grabs with Baie-Comeau and Victoriaville tied with 55 points each. Baie-Comeau hosts Chicoutimi on Sunday while Victoriaville hosts Rouyn-Noranda.
• In the scoring race, Sherbrooke's Joshua Roy is back in the lead with 116 points while William Dufour sits second with 115.
• In the goal scoring race, Dufour leads the league with 55. Charlottetown's Patrick Guay is right behind him with 54 while Quebec's Zachary Bolduc has 52.
• Dufour and the Sea Dogs will end the regular season against the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday. Dufour has scored 11 goals in eight games against Moncton this year.
• In the race for the league lead in assists, Bathurst's Riley Kidney sits in first with 70 while Josh Lawrence is second with 69 and Roy third with 68.
• Lawrence has 12 assists in eight games against Moncton this season.
• All 18 QMJHL teams will be in action on Sunday.
• The QMJHL confirmed the dates of three playoff matchups Saturday. Those series will start this Thursday, May 5 and will end no later than Thursday, May 12. There's certainly no time being wasted during these best-of-five series.
• Friday's 3-2 Islanders win in Moncton was decided by a 19-round shootout - a league record, according to Mikael Lalancette. Former Sea Dogs netminder Jonathan Lemieux stopped 31 shots in regulation time and 16 of 19 shooters in the breakaway contest.
• In the MHL, the Summerside Western Capitals took a 3-1 series lead in the league final with a 5-1 win over the Truro Bearcats on Saturday. Former Sea Dogs forward Josh MacDonald had a goal for the Capitals. Game 5 will take place Monday in Summerside.